Instructions for baking the cookies:

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• Cream together 2 sticks butter, granulated & brown sugars, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until well-blended.
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition.
• Gradually mix in flour, cocoas, baking soda, and salt.
• Once the dough is completely blended together, fold in the dark chocolate chips.
• Cover bowl with cling wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Once the dough is a bit chilled, empty it from the bowl and place it onto a large rimmed baking sheet (see my recommendations for the best cookie sheets ever). Using your fingers or a spatula, press dough evenly across baking sheet. It's ok if it doesn't reach all the way to the edges of the sheet, but try to press it as evenly across as possible.
• Sprinkle Valentine sprinkles all over the dough, and gently press them in using your fingers, just to ensure they bake into the dough rather than sit on top of it.
• Place pan in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove baking pan from oven and set aside to cool for about 5-10 minutes. You want the baked cookie to "set" a little bit before cutting the shapes, but you still want it to be pretty warm in order to prevent the shapes from breaking as you're using the cutter to cut them out.
• While the cookie pan is starting to cool, whip up the strawberry buttercream filling. Using a stand or a hand mixer, cream together the ingredients for the buttercream filling (1 stick butter, 2 c powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/3 c strawberry preserves). Blend together until everything is thoroughly mixed - about a minute or so. Set buttercream filling aside.
• Now it's time for the fun part! Get out a cooling rack and your heart-shaped cookie cutter. Begin cutting heart shapes out of the baked cookie dough and place the shapes on the cooling rack. Try to cut them as close together as possible so you can maximize the number of cookies you get out of the pan!
• Once you've finished cutting out all of the hearts, remove all of the "in-betweens" - the remaining pieces on the pan - and store them to munch on later. (They make great topping for vanilla ice cream!)
• Allow the cookies to fully cool. Once they're at room temperature, turn half of the cookies over (sprinkle side down) and either pipe the icing on using an icing bag & tip, or, to make it even easier, you can put the icing in a large plastic gallon zipper bag, cut the tip out of one of the ends, and pipe the frosting on that way. Since you're covering it up with another cookie, you won't be able to see too many imperfections in the icing. :) Once you've frosted half of the cookies, top them off with their other cookie halves. A match made in heaven right there in front of you!
• For an extra garnish, quickly sprinkle some Valentine sprinkles on the outer edges of the frosting.
• Enjoy with people you both like & love!